


The Master of Brennenburg

by SgtLeppard



Category: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Doctor Who
Genre: Agrippa Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Doctor Who References, Flashbacks, Gen, also Agrippa and the Doctor have met before, it's been forever since I've properly watched the show, particularly The Androids of Tara and The Sound of Drums, those cube things that carry messages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-22
Packaged: 2018-08-10 08:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7837267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtLeppard/pseuds/SgtLeppard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel wants revenge against Alexander, the Baron of Brennenburg, for his treason. The Doctor just so happens to be in the area as he looks for his archrival, the Master, and decides to help him. They soon find out a secret the Baron has been hiding for centuries. Can Daniel and the Doctor weather through the horrors of the castle and stop him once and for all?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This may be old, but it is still one of my favourite stories I've ever written and I'm so glad I can share it here

**~PROLOGUE~**

_He comes around a corner running from a patrolling Grunt. He finds the drawing room and shuts the door quickly. He knows the door will not hold the beast, but it is worth a shot._

_In his haste, the young man trips over what looks like a small cube. Its dimensions are perfect and glowing a bright white light. Picking it up, he inspects the strange object. Is this something the Baron needs as well? Or is this meant for him?_

_The cube slowly opens with a smooth grace as the floating light inside begins to speak._

_"Don't worry, Daniel. I can help you. I just need to find you..."_

**~CHAPTER ONE~**

Daniel awoke from his latest fainting to find himself surrounded by the fleshy Shadow. Panting in fear, he carefully edged around it and left the room, lantern held up to light the way.

It was odd, his dream. It was unlike the others that he had had. Not a dream of a past memory that had been wiped, and not exactly a dream of being killed. It was like someone was sending a message to him. Isn't that what the cube was for? The voice that had spoken wasn't familiar to Daniel as belonging to Alexander, the Baron of Brennenburg, or Agrippa, or even Herbert, his old professor. The voice sounded like it came from England, but it was not one he recognised. Maybe a voice from long ago, or someone he had yet to met...

But the question was, what did the voice mean? Find him? How? How was the owner of the voice going to find him and help him? He had heard the promise of help from Alexander and was tricked. He was not about to let himself be made a fool of again.

The small flame flickered, casting dim shadows against the walls. "Damn," he muttered. The oil was getting low. He'd have to find more quick or at least some more tinderboxes. It wasn't long until the flame was fully extinquished, and Daniel began to pant in fear as he tried to adjust his eyes. Whimpering, he shuffled forward carefully, wary of the loud footsteps his boots made. He flinched at even the slightest of noises and silently chided himself for being so loud and scared, even though he couldn't help it. Why did he have to be so afraid of the dark? The fact that the walls seemed to distort in front of him did not help.

To be honest, he didn't exactly remember why he was so afraid of the dark anyway. Then again, ever since he drank from the Amnesia mixture, he didn't remember much of anything aside from his name, where he lived, the fact that he was being hunted, and that he had to kill Alexander. His note to himself and a few pages from his diary that he had found spread out throughout the castle, or at least where he's been so far, offered some insight, but wasn't much of any help.

All of a sudden, the castle shook and Daniel fell forward on his knees. _What the bloody hell!?_ Scrambling to stand, he peered over his shoulder in time to see a fleshy substance appear on the walls behind him. The Shadow was chasing him. He stumbled forward through the corridors, running haphazardly into walls and nearly tripping over the stonework floor.

He had been so preoccupied trying to get away from the pursuing Shadow that he almost didn't see a small package bearing his name sitting on top of a barrel. Hastily grabbing it, he continued on, sprinting down the hallway and up a small flight of stairs.

Mercifully, the castle stopped shaking, but now he could hear groaning and growling noises that could only have come from a Grunt. Where the hell did that come from?! Looking around, he tried to assess where he was. What room was this? A storage room of sorts? There were shelves and boxes and barrels everywhere. It wouldn't be very difficult to construct a hiding spot. Without hesitation, he pulled some barrels over to a corner, setting them up in a manner that would completely conceal him.

He had barely gotten behind the wall of barrels when the door had suddenly given way under a heavy strike from the Grunt. _Keep calm,_ Daniel thought to himself, _Just remain calm and don't look._ Remaining calm would be difficult in the dark, but if he were to fool the monster into thinking he wasn't there, he'd have to put up with the lack of light.

After a few tense moments, the Grunt finally left. The Englishman let out a small sigh of relief. Before he could move from his hiding spot, the package he had picked up earlier seemed to glow. Puzzled, he gingerly picked it up and inspected it. It was small and cube shaped and wrapped in parchment. The handwriting appeared to be his own. Was this something he left for himself at an earlier time? Would it help him? He opened the package and was surprised to see the cube from his dream. Once again, it opened smoothly and the voice from before spoke.

_"Go to the Transept as quickly as you can. I will wait for you there."_

The Transept? The room with the small cages suspended from the ceiling? Of all places, why there? Why couldn't this person come find him instead if their true intentions were to help him? He then noticed the parchment that wrapped the cube. There was a short note written on it, once again, in his own handwriting. _I would listen to him and get moving now._ Now that was strange.

As he began to stand, a sudden white flash blinded his vision. Another vision of the past. Wonderful.

_Wait a moment,_ he thought. _What is this? A white room?_ There couldn't have been a white room in the castle. Especially with... what is that thing in the center? It had a small column rising and falling in the middle. And who were these people and... Daniel wasn't quite sure he even wanted to know what the small contraption moving about was.

The man, dressed in a white blouse, greyish brown trousers, brown boots, long brown coat, wide brimmed hat, and an unnaturally long and colourful scarf, was holding a fishing rod. He seemed to be having an argument with the woman, who was dressed in a purple outfit of sorts with green trousers. Odd fashion sense.

Now that he thought about it more, Daniel thought that this event could not have taken place in the castle. It looked too different. _What are they saying?_

_"We haven't got time for you to practise, Doctor. We've got to find the fourth segment of the Key to Time!"_

_"You find it,"_ the man insisted. _"I'm taking the day off."_

The woman looked flustered. _"You can't do that!"_

_"Oh, can't I?"_ the man answered, eyebrows raised. _"Section 93, paragraph 2, Laws Governing the Conduct of Time Lords, says that a Time Lord, such as me, after a journey of more than 400 years and 12 parsecs, is entitled to a period of rest and relaxation not exceeding 50 years."_

_"Does it really say that?"_

_"Look it up!"_ With those words, the man opened the doors to the room, revealing a wooded area, and walked outside. The woman huffed, following close behind him.

Whoa, what the hell did they just say? Time Lords? 400 years and 12 parsecs? Key to Time!? WHAT!?

As quickly as the vision came to him, it was gone. Despite the strange vision, he made quick work of pushing the barrels out of his way. Mercifully, a nearby trunk contained some jars of oil. After refilling his lantern, and breathing a sigh of relief, he made his way back towards the Nave where Agrippa was trapped.

As he walked along the long corridors, Daniel's mind swirled around the recent events. A strange dream where he found a glowing cube that contained a message, then finding another cube, and then the odd vision he experienced. Yes, he was aware that some of the visions he had already had were not of his own memory, but from others', but what was he to make of his latest vision? It certainly made no sense and - Oh bugger, why worry about it. It was probably just another hallucination. He'd been having a lot of those lately due to lack of proper sleep. And for as long as he could remember, which wasn't much, he had been having trouble sleeping.

Daniel could see Agrippa's chained body before he even reached the bottom of the stairway. Despite the alchemist's current physical state being withered and grotesque, the sight never failed to fill the young man with hope. He knew that he could trust him when he needed help.

"Ah, Daniel," Agrippa piped cheerfully. It's surprising how someone can appear the way he does, yet have such a bright mood. "I was wondering where you'd gone."

"I thought there was something I might have missed," he replied, lowering his head in thought.

"When highly stressed, one tends to overlook things." Agrippa shrugged, or performed an action that passed for shrugging, "It happens."

As Daniel let that sink into his mind, the German continued speaking. "Daniel, I hate to have to send you back there, but there is someone waiting for you in the Transept."

The Englishman could've given himself whiplash with how fast his head snapped up. "I'm sorry, what?"

"He's waiting in the Transept. Surely you got his messages."

What the hell? How did Agrippa know about the cubes?

"You'd better move along. Don't want to keep him waiting longer than he needs to."

Daniel stammered, "Uh... um, of course." Honestly, he did not want to go back in that room. He knew he was supposed to search the room for Orb pieces, but as soon as he saw the cages suspended from the ceiling, he had immediately backed out of the room and left, claiming to Agrippa that he must've missed something in one of the higher levels of the castle and wanted to find out what it was before venturing further. Unbeknownst to him, Agrippa had seen through it, but it was understandable.

Pulling the door to the Transept open, his attention was immediately drawn to the cages and he wanted to vomit. However, his attention on the cages was short-lived as a strange object came into view. It looked box like in appearance, coloured blue, with what seemed to be double doors with windows all round the top. Above the windows on a black strip read the words 'POLICE PUBLIC CALL BOX'. What on Earth was a police public call box? His attention was then drawn to the man standing in front of this box. His sense of dress was definitely very strange, as was his hair.

Then he spoke in that familiar voice. The voice from the cubes. "Hello, Daniel."


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel has a task at hand, and the Doctor decides to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part was written pretty quickly. No real action takes place, just a bunch of wandering about the Transept and finding half of the Orb pieces, and Daniel freaking out about the torture devices. Be a maniel, Daniel! Also enjoy the Slender mention

**~CHAPTER TWO~**

Was this the man who said he could help him?

"What are you doing here?" he asked the strange man.

The man simply answered, "I'm here to help."

Daniel huffed, "That thought crossed my mind, but who are you?"

"I am called the Doctor."

"Doctor? Doctor who?"

"Ah," the Doctor hummed to himself. "Everyone asks the same thing. It's just the Doctor."

A doctor was going to help him? How and why? To help with his amnesia, even though it was deliberate? "I mean no offence, sir," Daniel remarked, "but I'm not exactly in need a physician."

The Doctor chuckled, "Who said I was a physician? I mean, yeah, I know a thing or two about health and medicine and such, but I'm not exactly a physician."

"Then... what are you a doctor of?"

"Many things." Yeah, that doesn't help. "Although, if I had to pick a strong suit, it would be in the field of science and astrophysics."

So he's a scientist? Or physicist? Dammit, what should he be called?

"Got a little message from Agrippa saying you needed help stopping a certain baron. Me and my TARDIS were in the area, figured I'd drop in."

Huh? "TARDIS? What is--"

"My ship," he answered, gesturing towards the police box. "My beloved little time machine."

Okay, what did he just say? TIME MACHINE!? Daniel's eyes widened. "T-time machine? That's a time machine?"

"'That' is a she, and yes, she is. It's in the description. 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space.'" He flashed the Englishman a grin. "Did I also mention I'm not human?"

\----------

Daniel awoke to find himself staring up at the cages in the Transept. What an odd dream. Or so he thought.

"Ah, you're awake."

That voice again. Sitting up, he saw the man who called himself the Doctor crouched by him with a strange instrument in his hand, which emanated a blue light and a whirring noise mimicing miniature machinery. He turned the device off and placed it in his inside jacket pocket. "You're fine, just fainted. I guess I gave too much information at once, eh?"

Rubbing the back of his head, he responded, "I would... assume so... What was that... whatever it is?"

"You mean this?" he produced the instrument again. Daniel nodded. The Doctor spoke, "It's a sonic screwdriver. Pretty nifty in the right situation. Gets you out of a tight squeeze."

"A... sonic... screwdriver?" Daniel spoke slowly.

"Yep. It's a screwdriver, and it's sonic." He placed the screwdriver back in his pocket, then offered his hand to help him up. "Whadaya say we start looking for Orb pieces, eh?"

Looking around, Daniel saw that there was a stairwell leading to a loft and three doors. It was entirely possible each room held a piece. "Where would we start?"

The Doctor produced a note from his pocket. "I took the liberty of searching the loft. Just this really creepy note on torture."

Daniel shuddered. "I'd rather not look."

Replacing the note, the Doctor spoke, "Pick a door then." A quick decision took them into one of the side rooms. Upon walking in the room, both men could see a rope suspended from the ceiling, a stool, a weight, a crank on one wall, a table with instruments against the other, and a wardrobe in the corner. While the Doctor inspected the illustration on the wall where the table was, Daniel had made his way to the wall crank, slowly turning it to see how it works. Almost instantly, he was plagued by the screams of victims past as their arms were pulled backwards, shoulders buckling under the weight and dislocating.

Gasping from the horrible memories, Daniel quickly let go of the crank and stumbled backward into the wardrobe. _That hurt._

"Daniel?"

Looking up, he peered into the Doctor's face. "People... screaming..." he panted.

"Strappado," the Doctor said. "Considered the jack of all trades when it comes to binding and torture. On the outside, there's no apparent injury, but it does cause some serious damage to ligaments, tendons, and nerves."

Just hearing his explanation of how the device worked was enough to make his shoulders ache. As he reached to brace himself to stand back up, he felt a slight stabbing sensation in his hand. He grabbed it and realised this was a piece of the Orb they needed. "On to the next?"

The Doctor smiled as Daniel pulled himself out of the wardrobe. "On to the next."

The two then left the room and headed to the front room. Before they could walk in, Daniel's vision once again flashed white with another vision. There he was with Alexander and a prisoner, who was making quite the ruckus.

_"Let me go, you brute!"_

Daniel looked towards the Baron. _"The Cradle is ready."_

_"Good,"_ Alexander grinned, pulling the prisoner along.

The prisoner was shocked at the sight of the Englishman. _"You? You are a man... how can you partake in this?"_ he shrieked.

_"Is he alright?"_ he asked with a quizzical look.

_"He is one of the wicked,"_ Alexander answered. _"Don't pay his lies any attention."_

The three men entered the room and the prisoner began to cry hysterically. _"I'm not a bad man! It was an accident!"_

_"He set a man on fire,"_ the Baron spoke bluntly.

_"It wasn't my fault!"_ the prisoner continued. _"Why won't anyone listen!?"_

Daniel looked disgusted. _"That's horrible."_

_"Of course."_ Alexander clearly looked as if he were about to facepalm. _"We are dealing with monsters here."_ He strapped the prisoner onto the contraption, a Judas Cradle.

_"No, no, please!"_ the prisoner pleaded, _"I'll do anything! Whatever you want! Anything! I'm innocent!"_

Mercifully, the vision ended there. Daniel felt as if he were going to vomit, and the Doctor wasn't in sight. _He must've gone in already,_ he thought. Walking in, he saw him moving some old sacks about as well as the blasted device. He really did not want to remember just how exactly it worked.

"Aha!"

The Englishman turned to see the Doctor holding another piece of the Orb. "That was quick."

"Well," he spoke, "you looked like you were about to lose your lunch, so I went ahead and started looking around." Explained why he wasn't with him during the vision. "Well, quickly in and quickly out. Just like Slender."

"Slender?"

"Video game."

"What's a video game?"

The Time Lord sighed. "I'll tell you everything about future technology later. But seriously, if you ever decide to play that game, don't play with the lights off. A former companion of mine, Donna, did that once. Had nightmares for weeks."

"Quite a time to mention my fear of the dark?" Daniel hoisted his lantern closer to his face.

Chuckling, the Doctor led him out of the room. "One more, then on to the Choir."

"What about...?" Daniel questioned as they passed by the TARDIS on their way to the last room.

"Oh, she'll be fine," the Doctor assured. "In case I'll need her, I know where she is." As long as he was sure of that.

Entering the last room, Daniel could hear the faint sounds of sawing. Carpentry? It soon clicked that these were torture rooms, not woodworking rooms. So what was the sawing for? He soon found out as the pair saw a wooden, gallows-like structure, the illustration on the wall clearly showing how the victim would be tortured. _Oh, dear God, why?_

He was so intrigued, and disgusted, by the structure that he didn't see the Doctor bend over the pick up the third piece of the Orb behind some ropes until he was standing next to him once more. "Ready?"

Wait what? He already found it? He really must not be paying enough attention. "Oh, yes. Let's go."


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and the Doctor move their search over to the Choir, but they need to be wary of the Brute that wanders inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, this was interesting. Also we get our first mention of the Master

**~CHAPTER THREE~**

The two men entered the Choir and were immediately met with a rather foul stench. "Must be the fungi," Daniel mused, covering his nose.

The Doctor turned towards him. "Fungi?"

"Apparently there's a poisonous fungi that grows down here."

"Abundantly, I assume." The Doctor scrunched his face at the rank scent. "Hope there's a vaccine."

"There is," Daniel answered. "I'm vaccinated."

"Righto then." The Doctor then strode forward confidently, leaving Daniel to run to catch up.

"Doctor, are you sure you should keep going without the vaccine?" he queried. "It's killed several people."

The Doctor chuckled, "I'll be fine, Daniel. Don't be such a worrywart. Time Lord, remember?"

It had completely slipped the Englishman's mind that the Doctor was not a human being. "Oh."

They ventured forward into the main hall, surrounded by near pitch blackness. _It sure is dark in here,_ Daniel thought as he lit his lantern once more. There were several large columns that seemed to make the place a maze, but they did eventually reach a room, which contained an iron maiden.

The Doctor gingerly felt around the needles of the device, noticing fresh blood. "It's been recently used. Fresh." He rubbed his fingers together, showing Daniel the still wet blood.

Shuddering, Daniel left the Doctor to his fascination with the spiked cabinet and looked around the holding rooms. He found the fourth piece in the holding room to the maiden's right, but soon after picking it up, he was plagued with yet another vision. Once more, strange clothes, but these faces were unfamiliar.

The man spoke, _"Harold Saxon doesn't exist."_

The woman who was standing nearby, apparently a sort of secretary, looked at him accusingly. _"Then tell me. Who are you?"_

The man smiled, _"I am the Master."_

The vision ended as quickly as it came, and left Daniel confused. Who was he, and did the Doctor know him? "Doctor?"

The Time Lord turned from his current interest. "Yes?"

He wasn't sure how to approach the subject. For all he knew, the Master could be someone entirely unrelated. "Who is... the Master?" The Doctor sighed. _I must've struck a nerve._ It was apparent that this bothered him a great deal.

After a somewhat uncomfortable silence, the Doctor finally answered him. "He's a Time Lord as well. We used to be friends. We did all sorts of things together growing up. We even chose our names together."

"Then what happened between you?"

"Honestly, I wish I knew," he relented. "One point, he went mad, ranting on about hearing drums in his head. In fact," he continued as he walked back towards the door, "the reason that I had been in the area when Agrippa notified me was because I'm searching for him."

Searching? "Why are you looking for him?"

"A tip that he's responsible for the disappearances of multitudes of people in the local area."

"Sounds like Alexander," Daniel quipped, following him out and back into the main hall.

After more wandering around, attempting the find the other rooms, a loud groaning sound seemed to echo throughout the Choir, followed by heavy footsteps. "Quick!" the Doctor hissed, motioning the Englishman to hide behind a nearby column. Whatever it was did not sound friendly.

Soon, the monster the sounds belonged to made its appearance. "It's a Brute," Daniel gasped. "We should run."

Before he could stand to move, the Doctor grabbed his arm, pulling him back down. "Uh-uh. Bad idea."

"What?" Daniel half shrieked, half whispered.

The Time Lord looked his companion square in the eye. "Usually when it comes to my travels, when trouble is encountered, run. But not these guys."

"Why?"

"They're faster. Faster than me and trust me, that's saying something."

"So what do we do?" Daniel implored. "We can't just sit here and wait for it to go away."

The Doctor thought quickly. "We go slowly."

The duo slowly stood and carefully made their way to another room, thankfully not alerting the horrid monster to give chase. Walking in, they spotted a large wheel, which could only be assumed to have seen its day of intense torture, as it was very worn. Off in the corner was yet another piece.

"Only one more piece left," Daniel muttered to himself as he bent down to retrieve the piece.

"Mmhm," the Doctor hummed. "Let's hope we don't run into ol' Brutey again."

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case as they heard the thudding of footsteps behind him. Turning, they saw the Brute patrolling and walk right past them. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out a flashlight and shined it directly on the monster, who seemed to not notice that he was illuminated.

Eyes widened, Daniel whispered, "Two questions, Doctor. One, what the hell is that? And second..."

"He's blind," the ancient Time Lord whispered back. "He can't see us, but he can damn sure hear."

"You still haven't answered my first question."

"It's a flashlight." The Doctor twirled the still lit flashlight in the air, catching it flawlessly. "Runs on batteries and lasts much longer than oil lanterns."

"Not sure I follow," Daniel mumbled, "but I'll just take your word for it."

Gently tugging his shirt, the Doctor spoke, "Come on, one last room to check and we're done here."

Following his pull, Daniel followed the Doctor as they slowly made their way to the last room. "Speaking of fungi," he said, pointing out a mushroom patch right outside the door.

"You definitely weren't lying when you said it grew here," the Doctor muttered as he opened the door, leading them inside to see what looked like a large bull. "A Brazen Bull," he concluded upon further inspection. "Used to basically cook people alive."

Daniel could almost hear the crackling of a fire and the screams of the Bull's victims as they burned. His thoughts were distracted from the contraption and its horrors as he spotted the last piece by a large pillar.

"The last one," he spoke, relief clear in his voice.

"Alright, let's move quickly then." The two had barely left the room and once more heard the sounds of thudding footsteps, but they were not in a walking pattern. The Doctor turned, shining the flashlight behind them, to see the Brute. Running. Towards. Them.

"He must've heard us!" he cried.

Daniel began to panic. "What do we do?"

"Like always," the Doctor responded. "Run!"

They broke into a furious sprint in an attempt to get away from the Brute and find the exit as quickly as possible. Daniel chanced a look behind them. "He's getting closer, Doctor!"

"The door's just ahead! Keep running!" the Doctor shouted. He reached for the door and barely managed to escape, quickly shutting the door before the Brute could get past. Panting, he said, "That was quite the exercise, eh Dan--" He turned his head to see Daniel was not there. _Oh no,_ he thought, _the Brute must've got him._

He carefully pulled the door open, for fear of the Brute busting through, but when he looked, neither the Brute nor Daniel were in sight.


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and the Doctor have been separated. Will they be reunited?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another quickly written chapter. There's a lot of jump cutting

**~CHAPTER FOUR~**

"Agrippa!" the Doctor shouted, running back to the Nave. "We have problems."

The chained man was shocked. "Where's Daniel?"

"The Brute got him. I don't know where he might've taken him."

Agrippa thought for a moment. "I highly doubt he is dead. Alexander would more than likely use him as a scapegoat to hold off the Shadow."

"Alright," the Doctor growled, having had enough of being in the dark of the exact nature of the situation, "it's about time you told me just what the hell is going on here."

Sighing, the German began, "Alexander is not of the world, though I'm sure you may have pieced that together by now. For centuries, he has posed himself as a succession of Prussian barons. He wants to use the Orb to return home from his banishment, so he collected as many as he could and captured hundreds of people and tortured them to extract vitae from them, then use the vitae to perform rituals to hopefully aid in his return."

"What exactly does this have to do with Daniel?" the Doctor asked.

Agrippa answered, "He manipulated Daniel into helping him as he was seeking help of his own. Alexander promised him protection from the Shadow in return. His promise of salvation was a lie, for as soon as Daniel's part was complete, he abandoned him."

The Doctor could now see why Daniel was so determined to take the Baron down once and for all.

"I asked a favour of Daniel earlier, and he had agreed to take me with him. I told him of a tonic my student Johann Weyer made that would be able to free me from this husk of mine," the occultist stated. "It's now up to you to get the ingredients, if you could."

Nodding, the Doctor replied, "Alright, should be easy enough. What all am I going to need?"

"If my memory serves me correctly, the ingredients are a paralyser, vitae, and Tampter. I think the fungi growing around should work as a paralysing agent, the vitae from blood, and Tampter is an otherwordly substance."

"Yes." The Doctor rubbed his chin in thought. "Tampter does sound familiar. Kaernks secrete it, I believe."

"They do," Agrippa confirmed. "I think Alexander kept one or two in a well somewhere."

Clasping his hands together, the Doctor beamed as he began to walk towards where the Choir was, "Alrighty, I should have it done in a jiffy."

"Doctor, I need you to listen carefully," Agrippa said, stopping the Time Lord in his tracks, "Alexander is working on opening a gate to his home world. If it is at all possible, let the portal open and let me pass through."

"How would you pass through, though?" the Doctor asked.

"Simple," the German answered. "Cut off my head after I've taken in the tonic. But you must do so before you assemble the orb, Doctor."

"Why before?"

"The barrier surrounding the Inner Sanctum will only be breached for a short moment. Your TARDIS may be of assistance at that point. Unless everything is taken care of beforehand, you won't be able to save me," he warned.

The Doctor nodded, "Understood." With that, he dashed off to find the ingredients.

\----------

Daniel groaned as he awoke. What happened, and where was the Doctor? And furthermore, where the hell was he? This wasn't the Choir. Getting to his feet and looking around, he saw that he was inside a cell. How?

A distant voice broke the silence. _"You had me worried. Quite frankly, I'm not sure what to do with you."_ It was Alexander, that bastard! _"I hold no grudge against you, Daniel,"_ he purred. _"We are so very much the same, you and I."_

"I doubt that very much," Daniel grumbled, shaking on the bars of his cell. "Doctor!" he called out, but no response from the spiky haired Time Lord.

_"Did you really drink from the Amnesia mixture? It does explain so much of your behaviour. You never did finish what you set out to do."_

"For good reason!"

_"You talked about redemption,"_ the Baron reminded him. _"How you would face the Orb's Shadow and save our work -- and me?"_ After a moment of silence, he spoke again. _"I will grant you another chance to redeem yourself."_ Wait what? _"You can wait here and stop the Shadow."_

"WHAT!?" Daniel screamed. How insane was he?

_"Thank you, friend."_ The emphasis on 'friend' bordered on sarcasm. Then the voice was gone.

Shaking the bars more, the Englishman began to panic. How was he going to get out of here?

\----------

The Doctor frantically searched the Choir for the paralysing agent. He knew it had to come from a large specimen of fungi, and there was plenty of it in there, but where the hell would he actually find one big enough?

_Wait,_ he thought, _wasn't there a large mushroom by the Brazen Bull room?_ Immediately he dashed towards the room. Sure enough, there the patch was, with one mushroom being particularly large. The outside tissue of the top was very soft to the touch and should be easy to bust open. Searching his pockets, he found an old hammer and chisel. _Why do I still have these?_ That didn't matter at the moment, since they would do for opening the fungi.

The tissue burst open with just one hit and reaching inside, he pulled out the poison gland. It just might work as a paralyser.

\----------

Panting, Daniel paced around the cell. He was definitely not going to stick around and let the Shadow kill him. He had to escape! But how?

As he paced about, he noticed a broken bar at the bottom of the cell. He pulled it off, then tried to squeeze his way out, but it was no use. The space between the bars was narrow and Daniel was too big.

"Okay," he muttered to himself as he stood back up, "that won't work." So what was he going to do? He could feel a slight draft in the brick wall coming from the adjoining cell. There had to be some way to push those bricks away and get out through there.

He pulled at the bricks, which proved unsuccessful. Taking a bucket that was placed in the cell, he thrashed it against the wall repeatedly, but the bricks refused to give way.

Tossing the bucket away, Daniel sighed and leaned against the wall, angry at himself for letting the Brute catch up to him and capture him. He was sure the Doctor was fearing the worst.

As he let the realisation of his impending demise sink in, he began to eye the hole in the bar wall. Could he break another bar, then escape that way? No, the bar he broke off was already broken to begin with...

That's it! The bar! He grabbed the bar and jammed it into the brick wall and tugged with all his might, finally managing to break a few bricks loose. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Peering through the hole, he could see a wood beam in the other cell propped up against the wall, which was now slowly pushing the bricks out of place, thanks to the empty space in the wall. He reached through and grabbed the beam, pulling it towards him. The wall creaked and groaned, then finally came down, allowing Daniel to escape his confinement through the unlocked door of the cell.

\----------

Next on the list was vitae. How was he going to find enough blood for that? Then it hit him. In one of the torture rooms in the Transept, there was a drainage pipe that looked stopped up with what he believed to be blood. Of course!

Quickly making his exit, and thanking the stars that the Brute had disappeared apparently for good, the Doctor ran as fast as his legs could carry him to the Transept, immediately pulling open the door to the sawing room. He pulled the grate off of the pipe, then began to wonder exactly how he was going to get the blood. It was too far down to reach.

"Oh," he realised. "Oh! Of course!" He dashed back out and ran over to the TARDIS, still sitting where he'd left it. He had a cabinet in the console room that stored a bunch of randomly assorted knick knacks. If possible, he may have a jar and some string in there somewhere. He could use the jar to hold the blood and the string could lower it down!

Finally, he found what he was looking for and ran back to the sawing room. He tied the string around the threads of the jar, then carefully lowered it into the drain. Once enough blood had been collected in the jar, he pulled it out, then closed it with a cap.

\----------

Now that he was free of the cell, how was he going to get out of the dungeon? The main door was locked, and he was fairly certain there where no hidden exits.

He wandered about aimlessly, thinking of possible ways to escape. He tried using the bar to pry the door open, but the door did not budge. That meant there had to be a key somewhere. It then dawned on him that the Brute that brought him here must have it.

But what about a spare?

He searched each cell, digging through hay and moving heavy cots around to find some spare key lying around, but found nothing but a note. Reading it, he could see that the note was written by a prisoner who it seemed had long since perished. He was about to discard the note until one sentence caught his attention.

_'I even laughed earlier as one of my wardens dropped a key down the pipes.'_

Yes! The clue he needed. He knew there was a key around here! And sure enough, there were some broken pipes along the wall. Peering in, he could see the key sitting at the bottom of the pipe, but no matter what he tried, he couldn't reach it. Unless...

Daniel facepalmed. "Of course! Flush it out! Why can I not think of these ideas sooner?" Fetching another bucket, he tied it to the rope of the well and lowered it down. Once he pulled it back up, he poured the water down the broken pipe, freeing the key. Now time to escape the prison.

Upon unlocking the prison door, the castle once more began to shake. The Shadow. Time to bolt.

\----------

Now there was just one last ingredient, which was Tampter. He remembered visiting a planet with Martha where Kaernks dwelled by the thousands in the water. If Alexander had in fact visited that world, or even came from there, it was entirely possible that he would have one.

Peering into a side room just outside the Transept, the Doctor caught sight of a well. _He must have a Kaernk in there._ He picked up a small rock beside the well and dropped in inside. The splashing and soft growling confirmed that there was indeed one in the well. Now how was he going to get the Tampter?

A thought then came to him. He dug furiously in his pocket and produced a large poultry leg. Ever since his first encounter with the Vashta Nerada, he's kept at least one on him in case a swarm was nearby. Thankfully, there wasn't one here. Tying the leg to the end of the rope, he turned the crank, watching the leg descend down the well. The rope began to shake violently as the Kaernk feasted upon its meal, growling satisfactorily. Soon the rope stopped moving and the Doctor raised the rope, revealing only a single bone left. Hopefully with the right equipment, the secretion can be extracted from the bone.

The sound of a door opening startled him from his thoughts, a familiar figure emerging into view. Could it be? "Daniel!"

Daniel was relieved. "Most comforting sight I've seen all day."

The two embraced as if they were longtime friends who were seeing each other for the first time in years. The Doctor was glad that Daniel was still alive and had managed to make his way back to the Nave. "What the hell happened, mate?"

"Got locked up in the prison." Daniel noticed the bone. "What's that for?"

"The tonic," the Doctor said simply.

Bells went off in Daniel's head. Weyer's tonic, of course!

"I think there's a chemistry room here somewhere where we can make the tonic," the Time Lord explained. "I've already got the necessary ingredients."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's go!"


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and the Doctor are nearing the end of the journey, but getting inside the Inner Sanctum may take a little effort...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a Doctor Who story. Daniel is the companion. It would be a shame if he didn't get the chance to say "It's bigger on the inside"

**~CHAPTER FIVE~**

Daniel and the Doctor quickly made their way back to Agrippa.

"Daniel!" Agrippa exclaimed. "It's good to see you are alright."

"Good to see you're faring well yourself," the Englishman deadpanned. Thankfully, his dry humour drew the desired effect from both of his friends as they laughed, lightening the atmosphere a bit.

"I always think," the Doctor piped, "anyone with a sense of humour in a dark situation will fare the best in a bad situation."

After they had their laughs, it was time to get down to business. "Now pay attention," the occultist spoke to the two. "First feed me the tonic, then use the saw down there to remove my head. You will be able to do this as the tonic begins to work, so you won't end up taking my life."

The Doctor recalled his earlier conversation with Agrippa. "Then we throw your head through the portal and keep Alexander from leaving!"

"Yes!" Agrippa cried.

Reaching down, Daniel picked up a hand saw that was lying haphazardly on the flesh covered ground.

"Alright," the Doctor said, opening the jar with the tonic. "Open wide."

Slowly, but surely, Agrippa ingested the tonic. "Quickly, off with the head! And remember, whatever happens, get me through that gate!"

Nodding, Daniel reached forward and carefully sawed off the man's head. He picked his head up, then turned to the Doctor. "I think the Inner Sanctum is connected to the Chancel. There may be a way to get through there."

With that, they ran towards the Chancel, which was illuminated by blue light. _Almost immaculate,_ the Doctor wondered.

"Straight across," Agrippa said. "That's where the entrance is."

They ran quickly across the center of the walkways, dodging the fleshy Shadow as much as the could, though by the time they reached the entrance room, both had suffered a few cuts.

The Doctor pulled the Orb pieces out of his pocket, then attempted to piece them together in the pedestal. "Is there anything around here to hold them together, glue or something?"

"I have tar!" Daniel cried, producing the adhesive from his satchel.

Taking the tar, the Doctor frantically pieced the Orb back together. It began to glow, and attracted the electricity in the passageway towards it. But it seemed it would not be enough to get through.

Daniel groaned, "There has to be a way!"

A light bulb went off in the Doctor's head. "I got it!" He turned towards Daniel. "Stay here, I'll be right back." At that, he sprinted out of the room.

"Do you think the Doctor knows how to fully disable the passageway?" he asked the German whose head he held.

"I'm not sure," Agrippa answered, "but I have known the Doctor for some time. He will find a way to get into the Inner Sanctum."

"You two knew each other previously?"

"Yes, when I first encountered the Orbs."

The castle shook yet again, and Daniel could see the fleshy substance begin to completely cover the Chancel. The Doctor needed to hurry!

Suddenly, the sound of whirring machinery began to fill the room. Spinning around, he caught sight of the Doctor's TARDIS materialising from thin air. How could it do that? Oh, that's right. Time machine.

The TARDIS fully materalised and the Doctor poked his head out of the door. "Come on, get in!"

Daniel rushed in and was floored at the sight of the inside of the TARDIS. "It's... it's..."

"Go ahead," the Doctor smiled, "say it."

"It's bigger on the inside."

He grinned. "Yep." He dashed back up to the console, frantically flipping switches and twisting knobs. "This is gonna be a bumpy ride. Hang on to something!"

Daniel held Agrippa's head tightly against him, gripping the metal railing with his free hand.

The Doctor pulled the main lever, and the TARDIS began to whine and groan as it dematerialised and shook violently as the Shadow attempted the chase the police box through the Time Vortex.

After a mercifully short time, the TARDIS landed inside the Inner Sanctum. "We don't have much time before the Shadow catches up," the Doctor hurriedly stated. They found a large portcullis-like door at the front of the room with no apparent way to open it.

"Maybe we can lift it up?" Daniel suggested.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the door. "It's pretty heavy and one person alone isn't going to raise it."

They heaved, pushed, and pulled with all the strength they could muster, but the door did not move.

"There's got to be some way to get this door open," the Doctor fumed, becoming exasperated, running his hand through his hair and pacing about the room.

Daniel gestured towards the screwdriver, "Why can't you use that?"

"It doesn't work on wood. Well, it does, but it would take possibly several hundred years to calculate the properties of the door, and that's several hundred years we don't have."

"What about the TARDIS?" the Englishman suggested, growing desperate. "Couldn't we get in there the same way we got in here?"

"What do you think I tried to do? Something is keeping us from getting inside the Orb Chamber. It won't let the TARDIS in."

They searched around, looking for some sort of switch or lever that would open the door, but there didn't seem to be one available. All there was were two rooms with altars and alchemical symbols.

Daniel soon put two and two together. "I think the door must be opened by some sort of blood letting ritual."

"Ah, yes, of course!" Agrippa exclaimed. "I remember Alexander showing me how the door could be opened that way."

The Doctor's eyes widened. "How does the ritual work?"

Agrippa explained, "The person wanting to enter the Orb Chamber would have to prick their hand on the sharp blades in the depressions in the altars, then recite a Latin incantation at the opposite end of the room."

Perfect! Well, as perfect as it could be with blood having to be spilt.

"Also," he added, "it could either be done one at the time, or simultaneously."

Daniel and the Doctor looked at each other knowingly. "If it has to be done..." Daniel spoke.

"It's gotta be done," the Doctor finished his sentence.

Daniel ran to one altar room, setting Agrippa's head down on the table. The Doctor had run to the other altar room, waiting for his companion's cue.

"I will help you with the incantation," Agrippa called so the Doctor could hear in the other room.

They sighed, rolling their sleeves up as they performed the ritual. _Here goes nothing._


	6. Chapter Six - Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to confront Alexander...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -distant evil cackling-
> 
> There's mention of conversations having taken place between Daniel and the Doctor. This all would've occurred between chapters 2 through 4, plus just before the epilogue. However, since it has been quite some time since I've seen the show, I couldn't come up with any decent dialogue for this, so sadly these conversations are only implied
> 
> Also no nakie Alexander. Just. No

**~CHAPTER SIX~**

Finally, the portcullis door budged open. The castle shook once again as the Shadow began to appear.

"Let's go!" the Doctor shouted, pulling Daniel behind him as they reached the Orb Chamber door and stepped inside.

Inside, they saw three pillars, with energy bursting from them to the centre, where the Orb Daniel had originally brought with him to Brennenburg sat absorbing the energy. Not to their surprise, surrounded by a wall of blue flames, they found Alexander, dressed in his usual attire, complete with his red coat, standing tall and grinning as if he had won.

"Ah, Daniel," his baritone voice echoed in the chamber, "I was wondering when you would arrive. I--" He began to say more until he spotted the man Daniel was with. At once, his eyes shot a glare at the Doctor with angry recognition. "You," he hissed.

Daniel was confused. He understood, though somewhat vaguely, that the Doctor was a Time Lord who had met several different important people and historical figures, but he didn't know he had met the Baron before. When did that happen? And hadn't he said that he didn't even know who Alexander was? So what was going on?

The Doctor pieced it all together and it all made sense. "I should've known," he hissed, startling Daniel from his thoughts. "You of all people being responsible for all of this. I mean, yeah, it fits, but this is extreme, even to your standards."

Alexander chuckled, fixing the cuff on his coat, "My dear Doctor, you really shouldn't underestimate me."

"Maybe it's you who shouldn't underestimate me," the Doctor seethed.

The young Englishman was at a loss for words. "Doctor, what-- Do explain, please."

Without averting his gaze from the Baron, he answered icily, "Alexander is not who he said he was to you." Before Daniel could ask why, he continued, "The man you met as the Baron of Brennenburg has been my enemy for centuries. In fact, 'Alexander' doesn't exist. He never did."

Daniel began to fear the worst. "Then who is he?"

"He is the Master."

Whoa, WHAT? This was the renegade Time Lord responsible for so much suffering? He should've made that connection sooner. How could he have fooled him into believing he was a Prussian baron?

His true identity revealed, the Master smirked. "And it took a face-to-face confrontation for you to realise that?"

"Oh, I had that little inkling telling me you were here. Just not this way. And now I'm sure."

The Master chuckled. "You always seem to know impossible things, Doctor. That's never changed about you."

"Tell me," the Doctor sneered, "you still hearing drums rattling about?"

"Ah, the sound of drums," the Master reminisced. "Largely, no. Though they do return on the occasion."

"Then why all of this!?" the Doctor bellowed. "Why murder innocent human beings? WHY!? To get around the Time Lock and return to Gallifrey!?"

Sighing, the Master responded, "I do remember the fate of our home planet, thank you very much. In fact," he revealed, "my intention isn't to return to Gallifrey."

"Wait, what?"

"You heard."

The Doctor scratched his head, thinking of a number of possible motives his former friend could have for pulling such a stunt.

"My TARDIS."

Daniel whipped around at the sound of the Master's answer. The Master has a TARDIS too!? Suddenly the chamber was filled with laughter. Why was the Doctor laughing? He could only assume his reasoning wasn't a good enough reason.

"All this," he gasped, doubled over with mirth, "for your TARDIS? That's it?"

The other Time Lord rolled his eyes. "You seem to have forgotten my TARDIS is more up to date than yours, which, if I understand, was broken to begin with."

"Oi!" the Doctor sobered up quick. "Don't mock my TARDIS!"

"Your TARDIS is broken?" Daniel whispered to him.

"She's old and breaking down in some places, but she gets me where I need to be."

A rumbling sound began to echo about in the chamber as the portal was soon forming. "Soon," the Master spoke with a sinister tone, "I will get my TARDIS back!"

Daniel was beginning to fear that the Master would get away and they would all die at the hands of the Shadow. "Be ready," a soft voice spoke. That's when Daniel remembered he was still holding Agrippa's head.

The portal fully formed and the Master grinned. "Sorry, Doctor," he mused, "you were so close, yet so far away. Enjoy your death."

It was now or never. "Not if I have something to say about it," Daniel boasted, grip tight on the severed head.

The Master glared at him. "What are you doing, Daniel?"

"Getting my revenge!" In one swift move, Daniel hurled Agrippa's head through the portal.

"NO!" the Master screamed as the portal closed.

"Sorry, Master," Daniel sneered, emphasising the Time Lord's title with sarcasm. "You're not going anywhere but straight to Hell!"

The Doctor was impressed with Daniel's tenacity. Donna was a tenacious companion as well and made their adventures just that much more fun. If only she could remember...

The chamber began to shake and the Shadow made its appearance and surrounded the Master. It also seemed like the place was going to cave in. A few falling rocks confirmed that. The Doctor grabbed his companion's arm. "We need to go now!" Daniel followed his pull as they started to run from the room.

"Doctor!" the Master's voice bellowed out as they ran, "This isn't over! I will have my day! Do you hear me, Doctor!? I WILL RETURN!"

The two rushed back to the main Inner Sanctum where the TARDIS was and quickly got in. The TARDIS quickly dematerialised as the Master's screams rang throughout the Inner Sanctum as the Shadow had its way with him.

**~EPILOGUE~**

Daniel stood leaning against the console as the events of his entire ordeal replayed in his head. It was obvious, however, that his old memories would take some time to return, if at all, thanks to drinking the Amnesia mixture, but only time would tell. First him drinking the mixture to purge himself from his own horrible atrocities, then being led all about the castle and catacombs with all but notes to get around and give him some background. Then meeting with Agrippa and the Doctor, the strange man with his strange blue box. Then finally confronting Alexander -- no, the Master, the Doctor's archenemy -- and preventing him from getting to his own TARDIS with Agrippa's help.

His thoughts were interrupted when the Doctor strode into the console room. "Something on your mind?"

Now that he mentioned it. "Why didn't the Shadow pursue us? Why did it only take the Master?"

"It didn't want us," the Doctor simply stated. "The Master was using the Orbs as a means to get back to his TARDIS. Cheating the system, if you will."

The Englishman was a bit confused. "But what about--"

"When you first encountered the Orbs?" he finished his sentence. "Simple. The Shadow saw that you would eventually lead it to the Master and exact justice upon him. He abused the Orbs' power."

Okay, that made sense. "So what happens now?" Daniel asked.

The Doctor flipped a few switches on the console. "Well, one of two things. One, I could take you back home to Mayfair, get back on with your life..."

"Or..."

"Or your could come with me. See the universe in all its glory."

Now this was quite the choice. There were so many things in the universe he could learn about. Those distant worlds where the Orbs' impossible geometry is commonly found, learn the culture of other alien races, see the stars and planets that one could not see from Earth. It was a very tempting offer.

On the other hand, the chance to continue his work in England would leave him quite content. Moving on with his life, get back to work. But the problem was, all of those close to him were dead. His parents had long since passed on. Leukaemia had taken his sister's life at the age of 15. Those he had been close to before seeking help had perished as well. There was no one.

An old memory came to him, he had received a letter from some woman in France. She was the daughter of one of Herbert's confidantes, if his memory was serving him correctly. The daughter of... Monsieur Florbelle? Yes, that was it. Justine was her name. Although, what was written in the letter was a blur. Something about a cabinet. Maybe he could write back about it later? Then again, why bother?

Shrugging his jacket off, he draped it over the railing behind him and smiled at the Doctor. The offer to view the universe was just too good to pass up.

The Doctor returned the smile and flipped a few more switches. "Any particular place you'd like to visit?"

Daniel wasn't familiar with all of the different places they could visit, so he shrugged and replied, "Surprise me."

The Time Lord suddenly grinned, flipping more switches and turning more knobs and dancing about the console. Daniel watched this all with a careful eye. "And I thought I was mad."

Gripping the lever, the Doctor looked up at him, still grinning. "Oh, I know." And they were on their way as he pulled the lever and they zoomed through the Vortex. _"Allons-y!"_

**~THE END~**


End file.
